Ray Farmer, left, on a golf trip with good Salem Country Club friend Tony Vorias.

When the U.S. Senior Open begins on June 26, the friendly, feisty spirit of the late Ray Farmer will live on at Salem Country Club. Farmer, member and past president of Salem CC, passed away unexpectedly at his Middleton home last July 22 at age 78. The volunteers headquarters during the championship has been dubbed “Ray’s Tent,” a tribute from the many friends he made at the Peabody club. Ray, who many of his pals said was a great guy and a straight shooter who wasn’t afraid t o speak his mind, organized many golf trips through the years for family and friends, old and new. His days as president of the Black Rum Golf Association and as leader of golf excursions to Ireland and other far-away locales are still recalled by fellow SCC members with awe, smiles and good humor.

Ray Farmer, bottom right, and fellow SCC members during the 2001 U.S. Senior Open.

The crowd at Salem Country Club looks on as Glenna Collett Vare tees off during the 1932 Women’s Amateur Championship.

By ANNE MARIE TOBIN

If history has anything to do with it, this year’s U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club is going be a real doozy.

At the 2001 Senior Open, eight players were within two shots of the lead on the back nine. Five of them – Jack Nicklaus, Isao Aoki, Jim Colbert, Larry Nelson and eventual champion Bruce Fleisher – were even par and held shares of the lead.

Salem CC’s executive chef, Fred Yanosick, and general manager, Greg Cincotta, estimate that as many as 17,000 meals will be served to guests during Senior Open week. | Photo: Spenser Hasak

By BILL BROTHERTON

While Tom Watson, Gene Sauers, Fred Couples and other professional golfers are making birdies on Salem Country Club’s championship course June 26 – July 2, the club’s general manager, Greg Cincotta, and executive chef, Fred Yanosick, and their staffs, will be doing a thoroughly professional job taking care of guests behind the scenes.

Nicole LaPerriere of Newburyport stripes a drive during her round. | Photo: Owen O’Rourke

By BOB ALBRIGHT
ralbright33@comcast.net

On Labor Day weekend in 1916, a scenic golf course was unveiled off the old Newburyport Turnpike in Newbury promising unparalleled views of the
winding Parker River Estuary and nine challenging golf holes. Flash-forward a century, and that description of Ould Newbury Golf Club still rings true today, but that doesn’t mean things have stood still off the golf course. To help celebrate its centennial last year, the club completed an ambitious clubhouse renovation project that gutted the bar area and was paid for solely by donations from its members.

Proprietor John Moore behind the new, custom-made bamboo bar. | Photo: Mark Lorenz

By BETH BRESNAHAN

When we visited Nahant Golf Club at Kelley Greens soon after the first of the year the clubhouse was covered in sawdust and the walls were being stripped down to the studs. Play It As It Lies Golf Management Inc., the course’s new management team led by partners Anthony De Dominicis and John Moore, shared they were transforming the former clubhouse into a facility that offered patrons a fine dining experience, a nice bar and lounge.

Sagamore plans a Masters-ful change on 9th hole

If the newly-designed ninth hole at Lynnfield’s Sagamore Spring Golf Course looks familiar, don’t be surprised if Dave Loggins’ iconic theme music, “The Masters” (yes, that music), pops into your head as you approach the green. That’s because, well, the hole has been cleverly renovated to replicate the treacherous par-3 12th hole at Augusta National Golf Club.

By ANNE MARIE TOBIN 

Sometimes it all comes down to being in the right place at the right time.

For Dick Blaisdell, that place happened to be his own Western Barber shop at the intersection of Route 1 and Salem Street in Lynnfield, where Blaisdell has spent the past 50 years cutting hair.

Salem Country Club Golf Course Superintendent Kip Tyler and “his assistant” Molly inspect the 18th green.

By BILL BROTHERTON

Kip Tyler, Salem Country Club’s golf course superintendent/miracle worker for the past 35 years, looks out at the 18th fairway and smiles. The grass is, for the most part, green and lush. After a drought-plagued summer of 2016, the classic Donald Ross-designed links came through winter just fine.

‘Drive it in the fairway; stay below the hole’ offers Salem’s genial PGA pro Kevin Wood

By BILL BROTHERTON

Salem Country Club’s Head Golf Professional Kevin Wood discusses the upcoming U.S. Senior Open. | Photo: Spenser Hasak

No male golfer has ever finished under par during a USGA championship at Salem Country Club. Bruce Fleisher, the 2001 Senior Open champion, shot a 2-under 68 in the final round to finish at even par. Dale Morey, who captured the 1977 Senior Men’s Amateur at the Donald Ross-designed gem 4 and 3 over Lewis Oehmig, was medalist at 143, 3-over par.

Do proposed USGA changes go too far?

By BOB GREEN

A few months ago, the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient, golf’s governing bodies in this country and the rest of the world respectively, announced a series of proposed changes to the current Rules of Golf.